Dancingqueen

My husband and I will be going to Spain in late January for about 10 days. Our daughter will join us from London where she will have been studying. Here is our plan and I would much appreciate your feedback.

Jan 26 Fly from MPLS to Madrid

Jan 27, 28 Madrid Hotel Europa
Jan 29, Train from Madrid to Granada
Daughter will fly from London to Granada on 30th
Granada Jan 29, 30, 31st Hotel Anacapri. Will book Alahambra. Bus from Granada to Sevilla on Feb 1st. February 1 through 4 Sevilla. Hotel? Maestranza? Feb 5 AVE train to Madrid. I could go back to the Europa or is there someplace better near the airport?
Return to MSP on 6th.

Appreciate your feedback. Also, thought about stopping in Cordoba on the way back to Madrid for a few hours. Worth it?
Thanks.

Robert2533

Hotel Europa, Madrid? This is a simple 1-star hotel with rates that seem a bit high for your dates. Has you looked at other options? The 4-star Hotel Meninas, C/ Campomanes, 7, have rates on the same dates that are a whole lot better, 154.50 euros/night, including breakfast, while the Hotel Europa rates range up to 165 Euros/night, not including breakfast.

I don't know anything about the Europa, but I do know the quality of the Meninas. We have checked the hotel out in the past and are staying there for three nights in two weeks.

The Hotel Anacapri is fine. It's well located in the old section of the city with easy access and is very reasonably priced, but I prefer the Carman de al Alcubilla del Caracol (http://www.alcubilladelcaracol.com/). It is a bit more expensive, but worth it.

Regarding being near the airport. If you are going to be staying in Madrid, being close to the airport is irrelevant. A taxi will get you to the airport from the center of the city in 30 minutes or less than 30 Euros. If you stay in the city then you can enjoy Madrid before flying home the next day.

car

The hotel Europa in Madrid is officialy a two star, mistaken in the web by one star.
It is well rated in tripadvisor, whatever this means.
Location wise is in the very center of the city. Something like Picadilly in London or Times square in NYK. So Public transportation conenction is very good, as must of that part of town is only pedestrian.
It might be a bit overpriced becaused of its location.
As said,do not bother to look for hotels near the airport.
I will consider Cordoba a great stop for a few hours or even overnite.

Robert2533

The Hotel Europa is listed as a 1-star on it's own web site, hardly an understatement. And yes, location has something to do with the pricing, which means that it is overpriced.

kja

Hi, Dancingqueen -

> thought about stopping in Cordoba on the way back to Madrid for a few hours. Worth it?

IMO, yes! The Mezquita is amazing.

Also - have you considered flying out of Sevilla rather than returning to Madrid?

Hope that helps!

Dancingqueen

Thanks for the feedback. I will look at some other options for hotels for Madrid. I do usually try for a central location. We generally go higher than 1 star - but not usually more than 3.

I will plan on the Cordoba stop. Thanks!! I wish we could fly back from Sevilla but the flights were booked through our daughter's college and we could only go in and out of Madrid for the financial deal we got on those tickets.

Any thoughts on hotels in Sevilla?